# Why no Nutrasweet or Splenda sweetened cereals? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 30, 2011, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nutrasweet-or-splenda-sweetened-cereals/569495 "2011-01-30T07:14:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nutrasweet-or-splenda-sweetened-cereals/569495/1 "2011-01-30T07:14:55Z")
Way back in the early 80s after Nutrasweet came out I have a vague memory of seeing a Nutrasweet pre-sweetened kid’s cereal being advertised on TV, but it quickly disappeared. Regardless of whether or not that existed, why aren’t there any now? Being that **all** kid’s cereals have huge amounts of sugar in them (some having it as the main ingredient) wouldn’t it be a really good idea? Wouldn’t it greatly appeal to parents and therefore be a big seller? Was that one I sort of remember killed by the evil industrial/cereal complex? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nutrasweet-or-splenda-sweetened-cereals/569495/2 "2011-01-30T07:25:19Z")
I don’t know if you’re going to get a definite answer, as I imagine it’s some mixture of focus group taste tests, cost, and interest, but I believe there are “sugar-free”, or technically low sugar formulations using Splenda. Found this: [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43552-2005Feb22.html](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43552-2005Feb22.html) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nutrasweet-or-splenda-sweetened-cereals/569495/3 "2011-01-30T17:21:44Z")
Fiber One contains aspartame. [http://www.zeer.com/Food-Products/Fiber-One-Bran-Cereal/000007477](http://www.zeer.com/Food-Products/Fiber-One-Bran-Cereal/000007477) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nutrasweet-or-splenda-sweetened-cereals/569495/4 "2011-01-30T19:33:49Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Being that **all** kid’s cereals have huge amounts of sugar in them (some having it as the main ingredient)… I’m not disputing this, but I want to research it some more - do you have an example of a cereal that has sugar as the main ingredient (presumably by weight)? ---
**Author:** ![xnylder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbce88/32.png) [@xnylder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xnylder)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nutrasweet-or-splenda-sweetened-cereals/569495/5 "2011-01-30T19:42:10Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I’m not disputing this, but I want to research it some more - do you have an example of a cereal that has sugar as the main ingredient (presumably by weight)? [Froot Loops](http://www2.kelloggs.com/ProductDetail.aspx?id=566). Ingredients: SUGAR; WHOLE GRAIN CORN FLOUR; WHEAT FLOUR; WHOLE GRAIN OAT FLOUR; OAT FIBER; SOLUBLE CORN FIBER; PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL (ONE OR MORE OF: COCONUT, SOYBEAN AND/OR COTTONSEED OILS)†; SALT; SODIUM ASCORBATE AND ASCORBIC ACID (VITAMIN C); NIACINAMIDE; REDUCED IRON; NATURAL ORANGE, LEMON, CHERRY, RASPBERRY, BLUEBERRY, LIME AND OTHER NATURAL FLAVORS; RED #40; BLUE #2; TURMERIC COLOR; YELLOW #6; ZINC OXIDE; ANNATTO COLOR; BLUE #1; PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6); RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2); THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1); VITAMIN A PALMITATE; BHT (PRESERVATIVE); FOLIC ACID; VITAMIN D; VITAMIN B12. † LESS THAN 0.5g TRANS FAT PER SERVING. ---
**Author:** ![Implicit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Implicit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Implicit)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nutrasweet-or-splenda-sweetened-cereals/569495/6 "2011-01-30T20:01:19Z")
Plenty of parents are leery of letting their kids consume aspartame or other sugar substitutes so there isn’t much demand for a kid’s cereal made with sugar substitutes. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2011, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nutrasweet-or-splenda-sweetened-cereals/569495/7 "2011-01-31T06:32:58Z")
> [@Implicit](#): > > Plenty of parents are leery of letting their kids consume aspartame or other sugar substitutes so there isn’t much demand for a kid’s cereal made with sugar substitutes. And adult cereals often aren’t as sugar heavy. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2011, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nutrasweet-or-splenda-sweetened-cereals/569495/8 "2011-01-31T08:02:16Z")
> [@xnylder](#): > > [Froot Loops](http://www2.kelloggs.com/ProductDetail.aspx?id=566) This Froot Loops are usually quoted as around 50% sugar. [Honey Smacks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_Smacks)(previously known more accurately as Sugar Smacks) with around 61% sugar and [Golden Crisp](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Crisp)with similar levels ---
**Author:** ![Jormungandr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@Jormungandr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jormungandr)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2011, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nutrasweet-or-splenda-sweetened-cereals/569495/9 "2011-01-31T08:50:13Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Fiber One contains aspartame. > > [http://www.zeer.com/Food-Products/Fiber-One-Bran-Cereal/000007477](http://www.zeer.com/Food-Products/Fiber-One-Bran-Cereal/000007477) Whoa, that explains a lot. I remember trying a sample at a grocery store and getting a headache afterward. I thought I was just tired, but now I know it was this. Thanks a lot General Mills. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![heavyarms553](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/779978/32.png) [@heavyarms553](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heavyarms553)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nutrasweet-or-splenda-sweetened-cereals/569495/10 "2011-02-01T05:34:56Z")
Aspartame doesn’t cause headaches. Especially not the amount of aspartame you would get from a sample in a grocery store. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nutrasweet-or-splenda-sweetened-cereals/569495/11 "2011-02-01T06:06:08Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > I don’t know if you’re going to get a definite answer, as I imagine it’s some mixture of focus group taste tests, cost, and interest, but I believe there are “sugar-free”, or technically low sugar formulations using Splenda. > > Found this: [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43552-2005Feb22.html](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43552-2005Feb22.html) Probably too expensive. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nutrasweet-or-splenda-sweetened-cereals/569495/12 "2011-02-01T10:23:08Z")
I just remembered that I’ve encountered low sugar version of Froot Loops. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nutrasweet-or-splenda-sweetened-cereals/569495/13 "2011-02-01T11:27:25Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > I don’t know if you’re going to get a definite answer, as I imagine it’s some mixture of focus group taste tests, cost, and interest, but I believe there are “sugar-free”, or technically low sugar formulations using Splenda. > > Found this: [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43552-2005Feb22.html](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43552-2005Feb22.html) > [@from what it says there](#): > > No. 1 cereal manufacturer Kellogg found that the taste and texture of its reduced-sugar Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops could be maintained with one-third the sugar, along with fillers and binders that count as added carbohydrates. General Mills managed “75% Less Sugar” versions of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Trix and Cocoa Puffs by using Splenda. Post Cereals’ reduced-sugar Fruity Pebbles has one-half the sugar per serving, using sucralose and added carbohydrates as well. While the new cereal versions succeed in cutting back on sugar, they do not come with the benefit of fewer calories. Exactly what I expected it to say. If it has the same calories and the same carbs, being low sugar doesn’t mean all that much to me. And it certainly doesn’t impress me enough to justify the higher price. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nutrasweet-or-splenda-sweetened-cereals/569495/14 "2011-02-01T12:57:25Z")
I’m eating Splenda sweetened Cheerios right now. I just had to add the Splenda myself. I can add as little or as much as I want. ---
**Author:** ![cruel\_butterfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5daacb/32.png) [@cruel\_butterfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cruel_butterfly)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nutrasweet-or-splenda-sweetened-cereals/569495/15 "2011-02-01T15:31:17Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nutrasweet-or-splenda-sweetened-cereals/569495/16 "2011-02-01T16:22:49Z")
Aspartame (Nutrasweet) isn’t well-suited for use in breakfast cereals, for a couple of reasons: 1. It breaks down when heated – most, if not all, cereals are heated or baked at some point during the production process 2. It doesn’t stay shelf-stable for very long unless it’s in a low-pH (acidic) medium (such as a soft drink). [Cite](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame#Properties_and_use) ---
**Author:** ![TerpBE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc8723/32.png) [@TerpBE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TerpBE)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nutrasweet-or-splenda-sweetened-cereals/569495/17 "2011-02-03T21:23:02Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Way back in the early 80s after Nutrasweet came out I have a vague memory of seeing a Nutrasweet pre-sweetened kid’s cereal being advertised on TV, but it quickly disappeared. You’re probably thinking of [Halfsies](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halfsies), which used sugar and Nutrasweet instead of all sugar. I remember it tasting pretty much like Cap’n Crunch. The wikipedia article says it was discontinued due to poor sales. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nutrasweet-or-splenda-sweetened-cereals/569495/18 "2011-02-11T10:27:06Z")
‘Halfsies’, that sounds somewhat familiar. I also remember noticing the so-called ‘sugar backlash’ when:[ul] [li]Sugar Frosted Flakes became just Frosted Flakes[/li][li]Sugar Smacks became first Honey Smacks then Smacks then back to Honey Smacks[/li][li]Sugar Corn Pops --\> Corn Pops --\> Pops --\> Corn Pops etc.[/li][/ul]Yeah, if it didn’t reduce the calories _and_ cost more, it wouldn’t make much sense. Being diabetic I’ve been using Nutrasweet _et al._ for years and even though I laugh at people who are scared of them I also know that sugar has not been proven to cause **any** health problems other than tooth decay. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nutrasweet-or-splenda-sweetened-cereals/569495/19 "2011-02-11T15:23:05Z")
I’d wager a guess that people are all that worried about how much sugar their kids eat don’t buy them cereals like Fruit Loops and Honey Crisp on a regular basis. Instead they would do what my parents did and buy stuff like Corn Flakes or Rice Crispies or Chex, that we could each sweeten or not as desired. ---
**Author:** ![slowjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@slowjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slowjoe)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nutrasweet-or-splenda-sweetened-cereals/569495/20 "2012-01-25T11:05:05Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Aspartame (Nutrasweet) isn’t well-suited for use in breakfast cereals, for a couple of reasons: > > 1. It breaks down when heated – most, if not all, cereals are heated or baked at some point during the production process > > 2. It doesn’t stay shelf-stable for very long unless it’s in a low-pH (acidic) medium (such as a soft drink). > > [Cite](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame#Properties_and_use) I say it’s not suited for any kind of human consumption at all. See [Aspartame - Dangers & Side Effects of Artificial Sweeteners](http://www.mercola.com/Downloads/bonus/aspartame/report.aspx) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-nutrasweet-or-splenda-sweetened-cereals/569495.md?page=2)